If I could give 1.5 stars it would be more appropriate. This is a review of my experience last night when I ate here as part of a car club gathering. Now I am not expecting culinary revelation at Fiesta Azteca. They are very good at their craft, which is to provide acceptable Americanized Mexican food in a fun relaxed atmosphere. In this regard they performed admirably. My issues are with what happened before and after our meal.
Our reservation was for a party of 10 on a Saturday evening. While I understand it was a peak time, it was storming outside, and I would assume as a result, their business would be affected. We had 20 people show up for our dinner event. I am guilty of bring 5 of the extra 10 folks as we had folks show up at the last minute on a whim. When we presented this situation to the host, we were met with a rather cool response. I understand it may be an inconvenience to string together a couple extra 4 tops to our large booth against the wall. However as a few of our group were spending time at the bar while waiting, I would think, the inconvenience would be well worth it to the management. We were finally granted our table for 20, and made to feel as though we were being done a favor by the front of the house.
The meal itself was uneventful- the refried beans , chips and salsa, and other staples were just as you would expect at a venue like this, which is to say uneventful and predictable. We came here for their ability to host a large group in a festive atmosphere, not for culinary expertise. The service was game- I got my drinks without waiting, chips and salsa were refilled promptly, and the food was served (considering the size of the group) promptly. We paid our separate checks and ventured outside to the parking lot where we lingered for well over an hour, looking at each others cars. Remember I said we were a car club. After about an hour we left. All told we spent in excess of $1200 during our dinner. This becomes relevant now- after we left the restaurant premises- this is after we spent an additional hour in the parking lot chatting- our club president gets a phone call from the manager. He is clearly irate and states that one of the 20 folks at the table did not pay his bill, and that he holds said club president responsible for the $20 tab.
Several variables are at play here. At least 12 separate tabs here for the party of 20, one server for the entire table, and lots of folks buying pitchers of beer. The bottom line is that our table was presented with several checks. We paid every one of them. As several of our group ( including me) have been in the service industry, our tabs all had proper gratuity (20%). We spent over 1200, paid the bills we were presented, and gave proper gratuity to a truly overwhelmed server who did give us a superb effort. My issue is with management. We spent (for Brevard county) a large sum on dinner, tipped well despite our reservation hang up, and were confronted with a very unprofessional phone call after the fact to collect a check for about $20 that the server did not present. Draw your own conclusion, and spend your time and money as you see fit. I would not come back, as the main purpose (for me) to come here is a festive atmosphere, a venue that can accommodate a large group, and food that does not offend.
Apparently management is quite good at offending. read more